U-46 will use drug-sniffing dogs in high schools

Police dogs are part of a new drug prevention and deterrence program being rolled out in Elgin Area School District U-46 high schools.

Under the plan, administrators at Bartlett, Elgin, Larkin, South Elgin, Streamwood and Gifford Street Alternative high schools will conduct random searches for drugs, alcohol and weapons in various spots - hall lockers, gym lockers and parking lots are all included.

The trained and certified dogs, accompanied by police officers, will assist with the searches.

"State law allows us to utilize police officers to assist us. Police dogs are the most effective and efficient way. ... That's why we're asking for their help," District Safety Coordinator John Heiderscheidt said.

The prevention and deterrence program is yet another component of the district's centralized safety plan rolled out by Heiderscheidt over the past four years.

"This has been an ongoing conversation we've had," Heiderscheidt said. "We've looked for parental input from various committees that we have."

Parents were notified about the move Monday through the district's reverse-calling system.

Approximately every other month, police and dogs will come into schools to search a randomly selected area. The searches will last approximately 15 minutes apiece.

U-46 held its first search Wednesday at Streamwood High School, followed by another one today at Bartlett.

Heiderscheidt said a dog indicated drugs were present in one Streamwood locker, but nothing was found. Dogs also sniffed something in five Bartlett High School lockers, but no contraband was found in those, either.

"Even though we didn't find anything, we're still notifying students and parents," he said.

Kelvin Lane, the district's student discipline coordinator, and Heiderscheidt this winter presented the school board with first quarter hearing and expulsion data from 2003 to 2010.

According to that data, the number of students facing expulsion for having weapons on campus has declined from 16 in the first quarter of 2003 to just four for the first quarter of 2009-10.

Heiderscheidt credited this decline with the district's weapons prevention program, put in place at all five high schools just months after an Elgin High School student stabbed a teacher in January 2008. High school students now are checked for weapons with a hand-held metal detector in six classrooms the district picks in each school a minimum of twice per month.

The number of students attending expulsion hearings for being caught with drugs, fighting, vandalism, arson, sexual offenses and truancy has stayed steady over the seven year period, according to the report.

About 30 percent of expulsions at U-46 high schools in the first quarter of the 2009-10 school year were for drugs, according to district data.

Using trained police dogs to conduct drug searches is not unique to U-46 high schools. Northwest Suburban High School District 214 uses dogs for random searches, spokeswoman Venetia Miles confirmed. Gurnee-based Woodland District 50 also has police dogs conduct searches at its Woodland Middle School.

Heiderscheidt said he's received nothing but positive comments about the move.

"The best part is, kids are having conversations about this. When the dogs are coming. Whether they're fearful of that or not, we're having a public conversation. And that's powerful."

Staff writers Sheila Ahern and Bob Susnjara contributed.